Encouraging Women to Walk Deeper with God

Dance With Jesus – a Metaphor for Joy

By Susan B. Mead

Have you ever felt like the journey of healing from losing someone dear to you was NOT what you hoped for?

Do you often find yourself feeling lost, alone, overwhelmed and unsure how to help yourself, much less someone else in your family?

Would you like to see that someone else has walked this path, so you can? Me too. There is HOPE…

Have you ever written an answer to a Bible Study question that took longer than the two lines provided? I did – and it became the book Dance With Jesus: From Grief to Grace. The question Henry Blackaby posed in Experiencing God was what does God want you to do, right now?

I heard deep in my spirit, “Sing My love song.” And laughed out loud at God.

Seriously God, You will have to send me a bucket, because You KNOW I can’t carry a tune. Then the next deep spiritual nudge was, “What’s in your hand? Use it.” I was writing in the workbook, so a pen was in my hand…

I swept away the workbook, got out a clean journal and out the story poured. At 5:30 am, I looked up as I wrote the last words. The very first email I read later that day was from Proverbs 31 Ministries about their upcoming SheSpeaks 2013, a speakers and WRITERS conference.

My name is Susan Burfoot Mead and I’ve been blessed to be married to my soul mate, Holt Mead, since 1979. I think the first 30 years we spent working on learning what soul mates are…Or should I ask him if we are still working on that?

I’m the mother of two sons, Matthew, who lives in South Louisiana and is engaged to a precious woman and Kyle, Forever 20 and in Heaven, where he is doing a Dance with Jesus. Kyle’s been there since March 29, 2008. March 20 is Matt’s birthday. I love you dearly, Matt. Always have. Always will.

Matt called on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning in 2008. My world split open and I tumbled into a black abyss as Matt wailed, Kyle died last night. Oh. O H. OHHHHHHHH. NO!

Please, don’t even try to imagine how any parent feels upon hearing those words.

But God…gave me a gift – a beautiful gift.

The morning of Kyle’s service, I had a dream. Kyle was wearing blue jeans, his Scooby Doo t-shirt, a blazer and was dancing–getting way down low. Two hockey sticks were crossed behind him…and JESUS was way down low, dancing in a mirror image JUST LIKE Kyle! Jesus turned with His arm outstretched, pointed to me and said, “This is to bring you joy. I taught him how. I taught him how to dance.”

So where was Kyle? Dancing with Jesus! Awesome, thank you, Father. What an exquisite gift from You.

A day or two later, we were in South Louisiana for a memorial service for Kyle for his college friends who were unable to attend his funeral service. One friend made a banner of a lot of their friend’s pictures of Kyle to present to us.

Can you imaging my surprise…and delight…when just to the right of center I saw a photo…

There was Kyle in a picture wearing blue jeans, his Scooby Doo t-shirt, a blazer and was dancing–getting way down low. One hockey stick was behind him…No mirror image. Just him. Dressed just like the dream. A day or two LATER.

HELLO GOD!

And the story continues as God reveals Himself over and over and over again. I remain in AWE of our great God! Now dance with Jesus is a metaphor for joy. The joy of the Lord!

About Susan ~

With over 2 million airline miles under her belt, an MBA hanging on the wall and 2 Christian Literary Awards on the shelf, Susan B Mead shares her expert teachings on business, grief and relationships. A master storyteller and award winning author, Susan leaves audiences motivated to live a life free of regrets even though she has done the hardest thing any parent can do – bury her youngest son, Kyle. Susan has been described as a solid, comforting voice in a messy world. Whether speaking to business professionals, women’s conferences, industry leaders or writer’s workshops, Susan’s insightful wisdom inspires audiences, empowering them to make healthy mental u-turns.

Connect with Susan on her website where she writes each Friday, on Facebook and Twitter where she posts scripture graphics and daily inspiration or on Amazon where her book, Dance With Jesus: From Grief to Grace, is available.

A Life Restored

by Lanette Haskins

We all have a story to tell — the good, the bad, the ugly and sometimes the really ugly. The good things are easy to share, it’s the other stuff that we hesitate to reveal. There are those parts of our stories that we would rather be left untold (and of course some details should be left out) but the truth is when we’re willing to share our stories, we encourage others that they’re not alone in their suffering and that gives them hope.

And that’s what I want to do — give others HOPE.

That’s why I write, not to share the ugly parts of my story but to share how God was able to take what was ugly and transform it into something beautiful…

When I was 10 years old I discovered that I had been adopted by the man I called dad. In that moment my life was forever changed as the enemy of my soul planted lies that I would believe for many years to come.

Because I wasn’t planned, I thought that God didn’t have a plan for me. I believed that I was a mistake — a life never meant to be lived. I never felt pretty enough, thin enough, smart enough, talented enough, or good enough and circumstances continually led me to believe that I had no value. I even believed that I deserved whatever happened — like when the “nice guy” who offered me a ride home from a party pulled into a field, locked the doors, and then stole from me the only thing of value that I had to offer.

And so I began searching for love and acceptance that I would never find in any man, only more confirmation of what I had believed all along and the more I gave myself away the more I believed the lies.

Bad choices have a way of multiplying rapidly when you shut God out and that was certainly true in my case. Bad choice after bad choice resulted in a teenage pregnancy, a late-term abortion, and shame and guilt that would hold me prisoner for the majority of my life.

Maybe you’ve made choices that have caused you deep pain and regret. Maybe the shame and guilt have been more than you can bear and maybe you believe that you deserve to be punished. Maybe you’ve been a prisoner to your past. Can I tell you something? Jesus will not leave you there. Just like the parable of the one lost sheep in Luke 15:1-7. He will come to find you. He will carry you home. And He will rejoice in your return.

His grace found me. I was lost and He came looking for me. He carried me home and rejoiced over me — I was enough. Enough for Him to choose me. Enough for Him to die for me. I was drowning in the ocean of it, nothing I had ever done could compare to His grace. It was more than enough to cover my sin and make me clean. His blood poured out for me. I was a new creation, not an improvement of who I used to be but NEW. And friend, He wants to do the same for you.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

I no longer live according to the lies I once believed. I live according to the HOPE I have in Jesus.

My past is no longer a painful reminder of shame and guilt but a platform to lead others out of darkness and captivity into truth and freedom through Christ.

We can’t change our past but we can give it to God and trust Him to change our hearts.

My story is really God’s story of redemption and restoration through Jesus. It’s a story of His Beauty for my ashes. I share my story to give others hope and to give Him glory.

Remember, “the power of our stories is tremendous, but left untold, they are useless.”

God has a purpose and a plan for each and every one of us, so share your story, give others hope, lead them to Jesus.

About ~

Lanette Haskins is a writer, speaker, ministry leader and an artist. She is passionate about leading others out of the shame of their past by sharing her own story of Christ’s redeeming love. Lanette is a wife, mom and grammy living in West Michigan. She blogs at Your Grace Found Me, and can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.